How to talk like a dwarf.

[edemaitre]

Languages

In addition to the human cultures in my campaign, the standard races also have accents and names resembling those of real-world and other fictional peoples:

Dwarves:
Hill -- Scottish or Scandinavian
Mountain -- Slavic or Klingon

Elves:
-High -- Tolkienesque, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, some Latin and Vulcan
-Sylvan, Wood, Wild -- Celtic, Native American

Gnomes:
-Rock -- Scandinavian
-Forest -- Germanic, Central European

Halflings:
-Tallfellow -- French
-Hobbit -- more modern British
-Proudfoot (feet) -- Germanic

Orcs, Ogres, Trolls: Tolkienesque, combined with epithets, e.g., "Trog Skullsplitter"

Goblinoids: Like Gnomes crossed w/ Orcs, some Middle Eastern, Ferengi influence (Hobgoblins have Roman influence)

Drow: Latinate, Japanese, Romulan

Dragons, other Lizard folk: Greek, Chinese, Central American

 

[Desdichado]

What is a "Tolkienesque" accent? And how does one have a Romulan or Ferengi accent?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It depends on the setting. In my homebrew, one of the dwarven clans speak with a Louisiana Bayou Creole accent.

Banjo-playing, booze-distilling, overall-wearing, hound dog-raising mountain men, IMC.

 

[AnonymousOne]

Banjo-playing, booze-distilling, overall-wearing, hound dog-raising mountain men, IMC.

In this vein...

I'm fairly certain that dwarves can make liquor out of just about anything.

 

[blargney the second]

Step 1: Get really really drunk.
Step 2: Talk.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I once enjoyed playing an NPC who was a dwarven version of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, complete with bad Australian accent. Crikey! (OK, so he was actually a duergar, 'cause the Underdark is the Land Down Under, but close enough).

 

[Nifft]

the Underdark is the Land Down Under

That's awesome.

Thanks, -- N

 

[Prince of Happiness]

I don't get the Scottish thing at all. Doesn't make any f***ing sense to me whatsoever. Not only Scottish but cheesy as hell too.

One player who played an excellent dwarf used a *lot* of bass when speaking, like this dude was born from a stone womb. Very awesome.

 

[Clavis]

I always thought Dwarves should sound something like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his early, bodybuilding days, when he could barely speak English. Dwarves are from Germanic mythology, after all.

I never understood the Scottish associations some people have with Dwarves either. Maybe the engineering connection?

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Lower your voice - about 4' high will do.